Don Davis (racing driver)

Born in Tucson, Arizona, Davis died in Dayton, Ohio as a result of injuries suffered in a sprint car race at New Bremen Speedway. He drove in the USACChampionship Car series, racing in the 1960-1962 seasons with 15 starts, including the 1961 and 1962 Indianapolis 500 races. He finished in the top ten 8 times, with his two best finishes in 3rd at Trenton and in 4th at Indianapolis, both in 1962.

1.
Tucson, Arizona
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Tucson is a city and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States, and home to the University of Arizona. The 2010 United States Census put the population at 520,116, the Tucson MSA forms part of the larger Tucson-Nogales combined statistical area, with a total population of 1,010,025 as of the 2010 Census. Tucson is the second-largest populated city in Arizona behind Phoenix, both of which anchor the Arizona Sun Corridor, the city is located 108 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 mi north of the U. S. –Mexico border. Tucson is the 33rd largest city and the 53rd largest metropolitan area in the United States, Major incorporated suburbs of Tucson include Oro Valley and Marana northwest of the city, Sahuarita south of the city, and South Tucson in an enclave south of downtown. Communities in the vicinity of Tucson include Casas Adobes, Catalina Foothills, Flowing Wells, Midvale Park, Tanque Verde, Tortolita, towns outside the Tucson metro area include Benson to the southeast, Catalina and Oracle to the north, and Green Valley to the south. The Spanish name of the city, Tucsón, is derived from the Oodham Cuk Ṣon, meaning base of the black, Tucson is sometimes referred to as The Old Pueblo. Tucson was probably first visited by Paleo-Indians, known to have been in southern Arizona about 12,000 years ago, recent archaeological excavations near the Santa Cruz River have located a village site dating from 2100 BC. The floodplain of the Santa Cruz River was extensively farmed during the Early Agricultural Period and these people constructed irrigation canals and grew corn, beans, and other crops while gathering wild plants and hunting. The Early Ceramic period occupation of Tucson saw the first extensive use of vessels for cooking. The groups designated as the Hohokam lived in the area from AD600 to 1450 and are known for their vast irrigation canal systems and their red-on-brown pottery. Jesuit missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino visited the Santa Cruz River valley in 1692, a separate Convento settlement was founded downstream along the Santa Cruz River, near the base of what is now A mountain. Hugo OConor, the father of the city of Tucson, Arizona authorized the construction of a military fort in that location, Presidio San Agustín del Tucsón. During the Spanish period of the presidio, attacks such as the Second Battle of Tucson were repeatedly mounted by Apaches, eventually the town came to be called Tucson and became a part of Sonora after Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821. Tucson was not included in the Mexican Cession and Cookes road through Tucson became one of the important routes into California during the California Gold Rush, Arizona, south of the Gila River, was obtained via treaty from Mexico in the Gadsden Purchase on June 8,1854. Tucson became a part of the United States of America, although the American military did not formally take control until March 1856. In 1857, Tucson became a station on the San Antonio-San Diego Mail Line. The Overland Mail Corporation attempted to continue running, however, following the Bascom Affair, devastating Apache attacks on the stations, from August 1861 to mid-1862, Tucson was the western capital of the Confederate Arizona Territory, the eastern capital being Mesilla. In 1862, the California Column drove the Confederate forces out of Arizona, Tucson and all of what is now Arizona were part of New Mexico Territory until 1863, when they became part of the new Arizona Territory

2.
Dayton, Ohio
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Dayton is the sixth-largest city in the U. S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Montgomery County. A small portion of the city extends into Greene County, the Dayton-Springfield-Greenville Combined Statistical Area had a population of 1,080,044 in 2010, making it the 43rd-largest in the United States. Dayton is within Ohios Miami Valley region, just north of the Cincinnati–Northern Kentucky metropolitan area, Dayton also hosts significant research and development in fields like industrial, aeronautical, and astronautical engineering that have led to many technological innovations. Much of this innovation is due in part to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, with the decline of heavy manufacturing, Daytons businesses have diversified into a service economy that includes insurance and legal sectors as well as healthcare and government sectors. Other than defense and aerospace, healthcare accounts for much of the Dayton areas economy, hospitals in the Greater Dayton area have an estimated combined employment of nearly 32,000 and a yearly economic impact of $6.8 billion. It is estimated that Premier Health Partners, a network, contributes more than $2 billion a year to the region through operating, employment. In 2011, Dayton was rated the No.3 city in the out of the top 50 cities in the United States by HealthGrades for excellence in health care. Many hospitals in the Dayton area are consistently ranked by Forbes, U. S. News & World Report, and HealthGrades for clinical excellence. Dayton is also noted for its association with aviation, the city is home to the National Museum of the United States Air Force and is the birthplace of Orville Wright, other well-known individuals born in the city include poet Paul Laurence Dunbar and entrepreneur John H. Patterson. Dayton is also known for its patents, inventions, and inventors that have come from the area. In 2008,2009, and 2010, Site Selection magazine ranked Dayton the No.1 mid-sized metropolitan area in the nation for economic development, also in 2010, Dayton was named one of the best places in the United States for college graduates to find a job. Dayton was founded on April 1,1796, by 12 settlers known as The Thompson Party and they traveled in March from Cincinnati up the Great Miami River by pirogue and landed at what is now St. Clair Street, where they found two small camps of Native Americans. Among them was Benjamin Van Cleve, whose memoirs provide insights into the Ohio Valleys history, two other groups traveling overland arrived several days later. In 1797, Daniel C. Cooper laid out Mad River Road, Ohio was admitted into the Union in 1803, and the city of Dayton was incorporated in 1805. The city was named after Jonathan Dayton, a captain in the American Revolutionary War who signed the U. S, constitution and owned a significant amount of land in the area. Historically, Dayton has been the home for many patents and inventions since the 1870s, according to the National Park Service, citing information from the U. S. Patent Office, Dayton had granted more patents per capita than any other U. S. city in 1890, the Wright brothers, inventors of the airplane, and Charles F. Kettering, world-renowned for his numerous inventions, hailed from Dayton. Paul Laurence Dunbar – a famous African-American poet and novelist – penned his most famous works in the late 19th century, innovation led to business growth in the region

3.
Sprint car racing
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Sprint cars are high-powered race cars designed primarily for the purpose of running on short oval or circular dirt or paved tracks. Sprint car racing is popular in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, typically they are powered by a naturally aspirated, mechanically fuel injected American V8 with an engine displacement of 410 cubic inches capable of engine speeds of 9000 rpm. Depending on the setup and the track layout these cars achieve speeds in excess of 160 mph. A lower budget but likewise very popular class of Sprint cars uses a 360 cubic inch engines that produce approximately 700 horsepower, Sprint cars do not utilize a transmission, they have an in or out gear box and quick change rear differentials for occasional gearing changes. As a result, they do not have electric starters and require a push to start them, the safety record of sprint car racing in recent years has been greatly improved by the use of roll cages, and especially on dirt tracks, wings, to protect the drivers. Many IndyCar Series and NASCAR drivers used sprint car racing as a stepping stone on their way to more high-profile divisions. Foyt, Mario Andretti, Johnny Rutherford, Parnelli Jones, Johnnie Parsons, Al Unser, Sr. and Al Unser, Jr. as well as NASCAR Sprint Cup champions Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. In fact, having announced his retirement from NASCAR, Tony Stewart plans on returning to Sprint Car racing. It has always been his passion, according to Stewart. The National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum located in Knoxville, Iowa, there are a few sanctioning bodies for non-winged sprint cars. This series has become the premier non-winged sprint car series on the west coast of the United States, USAC also has hosted the Silver Crown series based in the Midwestern United States state of Indiana for decades. The Silver Crown series was started in 1971 as an offshoot of the series competed for the National Championship Trail including the Indianapolis 500. Non-wing Sprint cars are considered the traditional sprint car, dating back to the first sprint cars in the 1930s and 1940s, today, they are essentially the same car as a Winged Sprint Car, only without wings. In fact, many of them have the stub outs in the frame for adding wings and they use the same 410ci or 360ci Aluminum engines as their winged cousins. Their tuning and gearing are different for performance at lower RPMs than a winged car, chassis set ups and tires are also different. While they dont have the top speed as a winged car. They tend to have a more extreme driving style and are often sliding sideways through corners, unfortunately, this makes them more dangerous than winged cars and their crashes are known for their spectacular nature. They also lack the inherent safety that a wing provides and it is fairly uncommon for someone to be good at driving both wing and non-wing cars, they are very different to drive

4.
United States Auto Club
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The United States Auto Club is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the United States National Championship, ultimately, USAC was formed by Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman. It became the arbiter of rules, car design, and other matters for what it termed championship auto racing, for a while there was a separate series of specifications for championship cars designed to be run on dirt, rather than paved, tracks. NASCAR drivers including Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, the triple crown is earned in USAC racing when a driver claims all three national championships. Only two drivers, Tony Stewart and J. J, yeley, have achieved the triple crown in a single season. Three other drivers, Pancho Carter, Dave Darland, and Jerry Coons, in 2012 Mike Curb and Cary Agajanian became the only car owners to win the triple crown by winning all three championships in the same year. USAC had awarded a championship until A. J. Foyt won his seventh title in 1979. It has announced that it will begin awarding a national championship starting in 2010, a drivers finishes in their 25 best races are counted toward the championship and the 2010 winner received $40,000. Points are accumulated in the three series, sprints, midgets, and silver crown. Bryan Clauson of Noblesville, Indiana claimed the championship, topping runner-up, Levi Jones. Bruce White, assistant staff doctor Don Mullendore, owner and pilot of the plane, the effect on USAC, and for open-wheel racing in the United States, was devastating, especially since it closely followed the death of Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony Hulman. The plane crash came at a time when Indy car owners and drivers were demanding changes from USAC, aside from the Indianapolis 500, USAC events were not well attended, and the owners felt that USAC poorly negotiated television rights. The owners also wanted increases in payouts, especially at Indy, though some think the plane crash was used as an opportunistic way to force change in the sport, it was merely an unfortunate coincidence. The seed of dissent had been growing for years before the accident. Finally, most car owners banded together to form Championship Auto Racing Teams in 1978, USAC tried unsuccessfully to ban all CART owners from the 1979 Indianapolis 500, finally losing in court before the race began. Both the USAC and CART ran race schedules in 1979, Indianapolis Motor Speedway president John Cooper was instrumental in forming a joint body of CART and USAC with the creation of the Championship Racing League in March 1980. However, in mid 1980, Cooper forced USAC to renounce their agreement with the CRL if they wanted to keep officiating the Indy 500, beginning in 1971, all dirt races were split from the National Championship. From 1971 to 1980, the series was named National Dirt Car Championship, Champions From 1956–1960 USAC National Sprint Car Championship was divided into two divisions, Midwest and East

5.
American open wheel car racing
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American Championship car racing, also known as Indy Car racing, is a category of professional-level automobile racing in the United States and North America. As of 2016, the top-level American open wheel racing championship is sanctioned by IndyCar, competitive events for professional-level, single-seat open-wheel race cars have been conducted under the auspices of several different sanctioning bodies since 1902. A season-long, points-based, National Championship of drivers has been recognized in 1905,1916. The Indianapolis 500, which debuted in 1911, is the marquee event of Indy Car racing. The open-wheeled, winged, single-seater cars have generally similar to those in Formula One. The fame of the Indianapolis 500 leads many to refer to the cars that compete on the American Championship circuit as Indy cars. This form of racing has experienced high levels of popularity over the years, the golden era of the 1950s was followed by a decade of transition and innovation in the 1960s, which included increased international participation. The sport experienced considerable growth and exposure during the popularity of the CART PPG Indy Car World Series in the 1980s. Two organizational disputes in 1979 and 1996, respectively, led to a split that divided the participants among two separate sanctioning bodies, however, an official unification took place in 2008 that brought the sport back together under one single sanctioning body. The national championship was sanctioned by the Contest Board of the American Automobile Association, the AAA first sanctioned automobile motorsports events in 1902. At first it used the rules of the Automobile Club of America and it introduced the first track season championship for racing cars in 1905. Barney Oldfield was the first champion, no official season championship was recognized from 1906-1915, however, single races were held. Official records regard 1916 as the next contested championship season, years later, retroactive titles were named back to 1902. These post-factum seasons are considered unofficial and revisionist history by accredited historians, Racing did not cease in the United States during WWI, but the official national championship was suspended. The Indianapolis 500 itself was suspended for 1917–1918 due to the war. In 1920, the championship resumed, and despite the difficult economic climate that would later follow. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, all auto racing was suspended during World War II, from 1942 to 1945 no events were contested, banned by the U. S. government primarily on account of rationing. Racing resumed in full in 1946, the 1946 season is unique, in that it included six Champ Car events, and 71 Big Car races, as organizers were initially unsure about the availability of cars and participation

6.
Indianapolis 500
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The Indianapolis 500 is an automobile race held annually at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. The event is held over Memorial Day weekend, which is typically the last weekend in May and it is contested as part of the Verizon IndyCar Series, the top level of American Championship Car racing, an open-wheel formula colloquially known as Indy Car Racing. The name of the race is often shortened to Indy 500, the event, billed as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, is considered part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, which comprises three of the most prestigious motorsports events in the world. The official attendance is not disclosed by Speedway management, but the permanent seating capacity is upwards of 250,000, the inaugural running was won by Ray Harroun in 1911. The race celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011, and the 100th running was held in 2016, alexander Rossi is the defending champion. The most successful drivers are A. J. Foyt, Al Unser, the active driver with the most victories is Hélio Castroneves, with three. Rick Mears holds the record for most career pole positions with six, the most successful car owner is Roger Penske, owner of Team Penske, which has 16 total wins and 17 poles. For a list of races and winners, see List of Indianapolis 500 winners, the Indianapolis 500 is held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a 2.5 mile oval circuit. Drivers race 200 laps, counterclockwise around the circuit, for a distance of 500 miles, since its inception in 1911, the race has always been scheduled on or around Memorial Day. Since 1974, the race has been scheduled for the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, practice and time trials are held in the two weeks leading up to the race. Traditionally, the field consists of 33 starters, aligned in a grid of eleven rows of three cars apiece. The event is contested by Indy cars, a formula of professional-level, single-seat, open cockpit, open-wheel, as of 2015, all entrants utilize 2.2 L V6, twin-turbocharged engines, tuned to produce a range of 550–700 horsepower. Chevrolet and Honda are the current engine manufacturers involved in the sport, firestone, which has a deep history in the sport, dating back to the first 500, is the exclusive tire provider. The race is the most prestigious event of the IndyCar calendar and it has been avouched to be the largest single-day sporting event in the entire world. Likewise, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway itself is regarded as the worlds largest sporting facility in terms of capacity, the total purse exceeded $13 million in 2011, with over $2.5 million awarded to the winner, making it one of the richest cash prize funds in sports. Due to safety issues, the race is not held in wet conditions, in the event of a rain delay, the race will be postponed until rain showers cease, and the track is sufficiently dried. If rain falls during the race, officials can end the race, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway complex was built in 1909 as a gravel-and-tar track and hosted a smattering of small events, including ones for motorcycles. The first long distance event, in conditions, was the 100-lap Prest-O-Lite Trophy in 1909